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Johan Turner (c1635-1677)
Johan Turner's origins are currently unknown. Turner was not her maiden name, but the name she inherited from her first marriage. Civil War During the Civil War, the cities of Devon largely favoured the Parliamentarian cause, and by and large the rural areas favoured the Royalists. Johan Turner was a child during this time and it is unknown who her family supported. There was a great desire for peace in the region and, in 1643 a treaty for the cessation of hostilities in Devon and Cornwall was agreed. Only small-scale skirmishes continued until the capture of Dartmouth and Exeter in 1646 by Sir Thomas Fairfax. He then captured Tiverton and defeated Lord Hopeton’s army at Torrington. Oliver Cromwell held his army in Ottery St Mary for about a month at the end of 1645. Johan may have been between 8-10 years old at this time and may have been witness to this event. Marriage Johan was firstly married to a man named John Turner. When and where this event occurred is unknown. It is assumed that her first husband died before 1653. Second Marriage Johan married on the 3rd March 1653 in Ottery St Mary to Thomas Underdowne, the son of Thomas and Sellinger Underdowne (nee Adam). Johan was recorded as a widow on the marriage record. The marriage record also appears to indicate that Thomas’ occupation was a weaver. Children During the Civil War and it’s aftermath, parish records were poorly kept and many are now missing after being destroyed or hidden by the clergy. During 1653–1660 the registering of births, marriages and deaths was taken over by civil officers (called Parish Registers), but the registers were returned to the churches following the Restoration in 1660. As a result, records for this time period are mostly missing or non-existant. It is very difficult to determine births, deaths and marriages during this period as a result. The parish records of Ottery St Mary do not record the birth of a child to a Thomas and Johan Underdowne until a Thomas Underdown was born in 1674. This is some 20 years after our Thomas (b1635) and Johan Underdown (fmly Turner) married. The Ottery records then indicate the birth of a John Underdown in 1679, and then two more children are born to a Thomas and Johan Underdown in Honiton in 1682 and 1685 respectively. This all appears to be one family and records birth too late to be children of Thomas Underdowne (b1635). It is highly likely then that another ‘Thomas and Johan Underdowne’ existed between these two generations who was the father of these children. Because the situation with parish records was in such a mess during this time period, the detail just has not been recorded properly. The author of this page has therefore taken the theory that Thomas and Johan Underdown (fmly Turner) did have a child (or children together) – their births however have not been recorded. It is also likely that the children they had would have been born more around the time directly after they married in the 1850s. The Thomas Underdown who married a Johan and had children Thomas (1674), John (1679), Mary (1682) and Sarah (1685) is the right age to be a child of out Thomas (b 1635). He could have been born in approximately 1655, making the date of his marriage as circa 1674. Death No record of Thomas and Johan’s burial has been located at this stage. Children |- |colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |'Children of Thomas and Johan Underdowne' References *"Recorded Details on the Underdown Families in England", by Peter Underdown, South Australia, 1990 *GEDCOM details of Maxine Cadzow, Victoria, Australia *"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NB89-BMF : accessed 19 Jan 2013), Thomas Underdowne, 13 Dec 1635; citing OTTERY SAINT MARY,DEVON,ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 0962974, 0962975 *"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NRMD-5JR : accessed 19 Jan 2013), Thomas Underdowne, 29 Oct 1674; citing OTTERY SAINT MARY,DEVON,ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 0962974, 0962975 *"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JWK3-ZBL : accessed 19 Jan 2013), Thomas Underdowne in entry for John Underdowne, 09 Oct 1679; citing OTTERY SAINT MARY,DEVON,ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 0962974, 0962975 *"England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/J797-3TG : accessed 19 Jan 2013), Thomas Underdowne in entry for Sarah Underdowne, 26 Nov 1685; citing HONITON ON OTTER,DEVON,ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 914147, 917148 Category:Married in 1653 Category:Married in Ottery St Mary Category:Non-SMW people articles